Garbage-receptacle.



J. M. OBERHOLTZER.

GARBAGE RECEPTACLE. APPLICATION FILED mung, me

Patented June 12, 191?.

Milan. x 6'91 JOHN M. OBERHOLTZER, OF WOOSTER, OHIO.

GARBAGE-RECEPTAOLE.

Application filed June 18, 1916.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN M. OBERHOLTZER, a citizen of the United States, residing at l/Vooster, in the county of Naync and State of Ohio, have invented a new and useful Garbage-Receptacle, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in garbage receptacles, and particularly to receptacles for temporarily receiving, confining and removing garbage from residences and shops, sanitarily.

Its object is to provide a garbage receptacle of such construction as to automatically open and close the lid thereof without touching the latter with hands, and also afford means for holding the lid in either open or closed position from either the front, or the'rear of the receptacle, without manual contact therewith.

It consists mainly of a receptacle, surmounted by a lid, in cooperation with a circumferential treadle bar having a pair of fulcrums each located diamertically opposite the other at the base of the receptacle, and a pair of rods in operative engagement with said treadle bar and said lid, whereby the latter is actuated or held up and down by the former, at pleasure, by the cooperation of a resilient member, without danger of hand contact with the garbage in using the receptacle, as hereinafter fully set forth and stated in the appended claims.

My invention is illustrated by the accompanying drawings in which similar letters of reference indicate like parts.

Referring thereto, Figure 1 is a view in perspective of a garbage receptacle embodying my invention, showing the lid thereof closed; Fig. 2 is a similar view, showing the lid open for the reception or discharge of garbage; Fig. 3 is a horizontal cross sec tion of Fig. 1 on the dotted line X Y thereof; and Fig. a is a detail sectional view of a cut away portion of the lower part of the receptacle and one of its supports.

In the drawings, A is the body; B, a circumferential band at its base; C, a stationary part of the cover; D, a circumferential treadle bar pivotally loosely surrounding the body A, and mounted a short distance above the band B on opposite pivots 9; said pivots turn preferably in the upper ends it of a pair of supports a a secured on opposite sides of said base by the bolts 2' i,

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 112, 1911?.

Serial No. 104,627.

respectively. The form and height of said supports are immaterial, but are conveniently used for the purpose stated. Other means may be employed for fulcrums, and for supporting the base of the receptacle.

L is the lid,'and is preferably hinged to a rear part of the cover C, and bordered by a depending flange Z to conform with the depending border of said cover, to effectually close the receptacle, and give added strength to the connected parts. E and F is a pair of vertical rods located 011 opposite sides of the receptacle, and the lower end of each is pivotally connected with the treadle bar a proper distance beyond the pivots g, respectively; their upper ends are pivoted in like manner to the margin of said lid opposite each other and at a proper distance from the hinge of the lid to cause the latter to open to vertical position, when the forward part of the treadle bar D is depressed, as shown at D in Fig. 2. Added strength is given to said treadle bar by making it L shaped in cross section, as shown in Fig. 4c, the projecting flange (Z also'serves to facilitate either foot pressure thereon or hand lift, as the case may be, whereby the bar is actuated to open the receptacle from opposite sides thereof;

To close the lid and hold it in closed position, a resilient member Gr, made preferably of coiled spring wire, is attached at one end to the rear portion of said treadle bar D preferably about midway between the pivots c of the opposite rods E and F, and at the other, to a corresponding point at or near the bottom of the receptacle, as shown in Fig. 1. The location of said resilient member as shown renders a single spring sufiicient for the purpose and also equalizes the downward pressure thereof upon the pair of vertical rods, and thus serves to hold the lid L down automatically.

The position and also the number of resilient members may, of course, be modified to suit needs or convenience, in manufacture.

I do not broadly claim the device above set forth for opening the receptacle by foot pressure upon a treadle bar operable in front, or for closing it automatically by a resilient member in cooperation with the treadle bar, when the latter does not surround the receptacle body in such manner as to afiord the additional means for opening and holding open the lid thereof from a position at the rear of the body, for the purpose of emptying the contents, as hereafter stated.

A bail or handle II is secured to the receptacle, in any of the usual and well known ways, for lifting and carrying the same and for emptying its contents. It is apparent that by depressing the forward part of the treadle bar I), as aforesaid, the lid L is lifted to vertical position, as shown in Fig. 2, to either receive or discharge garbage, and, the pressure being removed, the resilient member G instantly closes and holds shut the lid, as shown in Fig. 1; and both actions are accomplished without using the hand, which is a feature most desirable in garbage disposal. Moreoveuby' the means aforesaid when emptying the receptacle, the lid may be opened from the rear by seizing the bail H with one hand and the adjacent flange (Z of the rear portion of the treadle bar D with the other, and thereby the easy discharge of the garbage contents may be accomplished without any danger of hand contact with the latter, which is also a very desirable accomplishment for sanitary reasons believed to be new and heretofore impossible in garbage receptacles. The-circumfcrential band B serves to strengthen.

the base of the receptacle, and also affords means for more easy attachment of the supports a, and the fulcrums based thereon, as aforesaid. It may be modified to suit the contour of the receptacle, and may be secured so as to be even with the bottom of the receptacle, or at a distance either above or below the bottom, as may be desired, and the treadle bar D and rods E and F lengthened or shortened to suit the form and height of the receptacle; and said treadle bar may be either connected or disconnected at the rear, as may be most convenient for manufacture, without departing from the spirit of my invention, and scope of my claims.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is l. As an article of manufacture, a garbage receptacle, comprising, in combination, a body, a lid hinged thereon at the top of said body, a circumferential treadle bar surrounding said body near its base, a pair of fulcrums for said treadle bar on opposite sides of said body, respectively, apair of rods set opposite each other, each in operative engagement pivotally' with saidlid and said treadle bar, a resilient member adapted to actuate said treadle barin one direction, and means, including opposite segments of said treadle bar, for actuating the latter in the opposite direction either in front, or at the rear of said' body, substantially as set forth, and for-the purpose specified.

2. In a device of thecharacter described, the combination with a body, a lid hinged thereto, a circumferential treadle bar surrounding said body, a pair offulcrums for said treadle bar-on opposite sides of said body, a pair.ofrodsmounted opposite each other, each in operative' engagement with said-lid and said bar,- resilient means for actuating said barin one direction, means, including opposite segments of said bar for actuating the latter in the opposite direction either in front or at the-rear of said body, and a bail or handle mounted on said body above the rear segment of said treadle bar and accessible therefrom, substantially as set forth and for-the purpose specified.

In witness-whereof, I hereunto set my hand this 11th day. of May, 1916.

JOHN M. OBERHOLTZER.

In presence of two witnesses: WALTER J. MONGEY, IIIRAM B. SWARTZ.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe -.Commissioner of latents, Washington, D. C. 

